Why The South Seceded From The United States Essay

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During the years of 1860 and 1861, eleven southern states seceded from the union. The decision by these states to secede was made after many different significant events took place, over several years prior to their decision. Many of these events had to do with the issue of slavery in the South and the northern states opposition to slavery, but not all of them. The North and the South during this time were completely different in every aspect and therefore had very different opinions on how the nation should be run and how much power the federal government should have. The primary motivation for the secession of the southern states was their belief that their rights given to them under the constitution were being taken away by the northern controlled federal government and the new regionally dominated Republican Party.
Many argue that the main reason the South seceded from the union was only over the issue of slavery. The South thought that the new Republican Party and the newly elected president, President Lincoln, were going to abolish slavery in the South. Although this may be, for the most part true, it is not the sole reason for the South’s decision to secede. The four states that seceded later in 1861, had at first voted against secession on the sole basis over the issue of slavery. It was not until President Lincoln decided to send troops to the South to restore the union that the last four states decided to secede. Their decisions to secede were not based at all on the issue of slavery, but on the issue of the federal government having too much power and overstepping their bounds that they were given in the constitution, or so the southern states saw it.
The issue of slavery was a main reason for the South’s secession but to the South, slavery was a right that they saw should be protected by the constitution. Slavery was not the only right that they saw as being threatened. The South based its economy on exporting their staple crops, like cotton, to...